Capps Named Honorary Pit Crew Member

FONTANA, Calif. – NAPA AUTO PARTS continued its popular Honorary Pit Crew Member (HPCM) program at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday. This time, a familiar face graced the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS pit and garnered attention from fans who passed by. Despite the pleasant distraction, it did not deter NAPA’s NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps from completing his HPCM duties for his NAPA NASCAR teammate Martin Truex Jr.

Capps arrived with son Caden to experience NASCAR’s main event at the Auto Club Speedway. Claire B. Lang of Sirius XM Satellite Radio interviewed both Caden and Ron during its morning pre-race show. Then the NAPA Funny Car driver joined Truex and promoted their sponsor by appearing on SPEED’s popular pre-race program, NASCAR RACE DAY.

As part of Capps’ duties, he and his son attended the drivers meeting with Truex and then participated in the NAPA team meeting where Caden addressed the crew. Then they were off to driver introductions and pre-race festivities where they met and took pictures with movie star Vince Vaughn.

They also met up with Truex to take a photo by Capps’ name prominently displayed on the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota.

When it was time for the engines to fire, Capps got on the team radio and gave the NAPA driver and crew words of encouragement as he appreciated the opportunity to be a part of his sponsor’s NASCAR team, even if it was for just a day.

However, the highlight of Capps’ experience was signaling Truex in for his first pit stop by holding and waving the driver’s pit sign to help him negotiate his way into the NAPA pit stall.

“I cannot tell you how nervous I was,” beamed Capps after the stop. “I was warned by the team’s front tire-changer Eric Maycroft that my role was important because I could screw him up too. It went off without a hitch. I cannot thank everyone with NAPA and Michael Waltrip Racing for this experience. It was such a special day for me and Caden. During the race, he told me two times how much he loved me.”

Next month, Capps will return the favor to Truex as the NASCAR driver will serve as the Honorary Pit Crew Member at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. on Sunday, April 15. Plus, the entire NAPA Sprint Cup team will show their support for Capps as well. They will attend the NAPA Club Nitro hospitality and watch Capps launch off the line during the competition.

This season NAPA is hosting its popular Honorary Pit Crew Program at all of the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. The HPCM(s) will be chosen based on different criteria determined by the NAPA management from the region that hosts the race.